


By My Side - Teen Wolf

by stottbromance



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-24
Updated: 2014-02-24
Packaged: 2018-01-13 16:36:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1233544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stottbromance/pseuds/stottbromance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After their parents divorce, Aeryn and Ariella Walker pack up their lives and move across the country to the small town of Beacon Hills. Adjusting to a new town is never easy and Aeryn and Ariella are no exception to that. Especially in a town like this. They try to restart their lives and begin their sophomore year at the local high school. There, they meet certain people who will have massive impacts on their lives, even if they don't know it yet. Soon the two sisters begin to become wrapped up in secrets; one of mystery and mythology, the other of fear and abuse. And as their worlds start to meld with those that they shouldn't, they realize they're getting more than they bargained for.</p><p>*Season One*</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

[Aeryn POV]

 

I already had it set in my mind that Beacon Hills was the ninth ring of hell itself. This place was never going to be my home, nor was I ever going to feel comfortable living in this house. My parents never seemed like the type to get divorced, I guess I should have paid them more attention or something, because to be honest I was totally blindsided by the entire thing. My mom came into my room that night, telling me that we were going to be moving and that dad wasn't coming with us. I had laughed, thinking that she was joking, but that laugh was short lived when I caught sight of the grim expression on my sister's face when she stalked into the room. 

And that leads us to now, me sitting at the breakfast bar in this shit-hole attempting to eat a piece of toast that I burnt. I don't understand why I can't use a toaster without burning something. I should just stick to using the microwave, although I'm pretty sure you can't microwave a piece of bread and have the end result of toast. I'll Google it later. 

Mother dearest decided to stroll into the kitchen then, wearing a pair of pale pink scrubs. If she hadn't been a nurse, I don't think she would have gotten a job as easily as she did. I'm now looking at the newest nurse of Beacon Hills Hospital. 

"Aeryn, is there a reason that you aren't getting ready for school? You don't want to be late on the first day." I rolled my eyes at that, I happen to be able to get ready in a total of five minutes. Two minutes to brush my teeth. Thirty seconds to brush my hair. One minute to slip on my clothes. Leaving me with a minute and thirty seconds to apply my eye make-up. Ariella on the other hand, doesn't posses that particular skill-set. 

The charcoal colored toast just wasn't cutting it for me anymore, so I dropped it back onto my plate and hopped off of my stool. "Can we hire a personal chef so I can actually have a meal before school? You know I'm grumpy when I'm hungry."

My mom chuckled, "Grumpy is an understatement."

"Rude," I scoffed as I made my way up the stairs. I could hear music playing from Ariella's room, it sounds like a Ke$ha song. Well, if there is a person that can get you motivated in the morning it would have to be Ke$ha, that's for sure. 

True to my word, I managed to get dressed in five minutes. I went with a simple look, not trying to impress anyone here. I mean, the town is called Beacon Hills-- not The Hills. I think I'll be alright. 

Ariella was still listening to that stupid Ke$ha song as I barged into her room, not even bothering to knock. She was applying mascara and my sudden and abrupt entrance had startled her enough to where she smeared the brush across her cheek. I let out a laugh as she shot me an annoyed look, "Have you ever heard of knocking?" 

"Yes, have you ever heard of being on time?" I remarked with a smirk. My sister was always late to everything, honestly if it weren't for me... I don't think she would make it anywhere on time. 

She rolled her eyes and dabbed at her cheek with a make-up wipe, "I'm not even late, first of all. Second of all, what are you wearing?" 

I glanced down at my attire in confusion, "Clothes?"

"You look like a Winchester. Why are you wearing a leather jacket and combat boots?" She questioned. 

The smile that made it's way onto my face was enormous, "That's probably the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me." 

"You're such a weirdo. Are you trying to be avoided all day?" She inquired, giving up on adding more mascara to her lashes. I watched in amusement as she snatched up her bag and pulled her phone off of the iHome-- silencing the Ke$ha tune. 

I shrugged as I followed her down the stairs, "Maybe. Are you ready to go?" 

"Can I get some breakfast first?!" My younger sister groaned in exasperation. Well, we would already be gone and she could have already had breakfast if she had gotten ready when our mom told her to.. I'm not going to say that aloud, she tends to get a bit slap-happy in the morning. Especially when I harass her.

 

➴ ➵ ➶ ➷ 

 

"Welcome to Beacon Hills High School!" Ariella chirped as I parked the car in the designated spot. We had to pick up our schedules and parking passes two weeks ago, my spot happened to be next to a pale blue jeep.

 

I rolled my eyes, "You're so funny. Seriously, consider going into stand-up, wouldn't want that talent going to waste."

"Hmm, sounds tempting but I don't think you'd be able to function days upon days without me." She remarked with a smirk. 

That was true. We do everything together, and if she were to go become a big-shot comedian, traveling around the world, I would more than likely wind up pulling all of my hair out due to her absence. And I will not allow myself to be bald. 

"Don't get too ahead of yourself, we all know that you need your big sister to help guide you through life." I stated as we both slid out of the car and began to make our way to the school. There were groups of people gathered around the steps, and at the sight my stomach dropped. 

I have never had to start fresh with anything. In Maine, we had gone to school with the same people since pre-school, but now the two of us have to make new friends. I'm not saying I have like severe social anxiety or anything, but I'm not exactly the easiest person to get along with. 

Ariella rolled her eyes, "You're literally one year older than me."

"That gives me a whole year of new life experiences to teach you." I chuckled, my eyes scanning around the mass of people. 

My sister shot me a bemused look, "We've been in the same grade our entire life! We have literally done everything at the same time as each other."

"Don't go around shouting about me being a year older. The last thing I need is for these people to think that I missed a year because I had a kid or something." I sighed. The fact that I have a late birthday has always been my least favorite thing about my life. Whereas I should be starting my Junior year of high school, I am starting my sophomore year. 

Ariella rolled her eyes, "I don't know why people always assume that."

"Because, teenagers have a one-track mind. Always thinking about sex." My response earned a strange look from a group of girls wearing some very prude-like skirts. What the hell? Is there like a Virgin Mary club here or something?

"I don't always think about sex, thank you very much." My sister retorted. 

I chuckled, "I do."

"You're disgusting." She laughed as she hooked an arm around mine and led us into the building. The hallway was crowded and I could already tell that I was going to have locker issues with the amount of traffic. 

Unfortunately, I do not have first bell with my sister. She has Geometry and I have English. We parted ways, and instantly that fear crept back into the pit of my stomach. I don't know why I'm so nervous, it's not like this is one of those crazy high schools in those television shows where there are massive cliques that run the school. At least I sure as hell hope not. I would hate to end up living a shitty remake of Mean Girls.

After wandering around for five minutes, reading every single room number that I could find, I finally ended up at my English class. The room was already pretty much filled, and the second I stepped through the door the warning bell rang. Damn, just barely missed being late to my first class on my first day. It has to be a sign or something.

There were two empty desks, and they both happened to be right behind a boy. Pick your poison, Aeryn. I could either sit behind the guy with a buzzed head wearing a plaid shirt, or the one with a haircut that I presumed to be an attempt at a Bieber flip. I hate Justin Bieber, so that was an easy decision. 

"Class this is one of our new students, her name is Aeryn Walker." The teacher stated just as I was about to walk past his desk. Damn. All eyes in the room snapped up and began to analyze me, I offered an awkward wave and then strolled to the desk I had just mentally claimed as my own. 

Wait, why did he say one of our new students, my sister isn't in this class-- "As you all know, there was indeed a body found in the woods last night. And I'm sure your eager little minds are coming up with macabre scenarios as to what happened. But I am here to tell you, that the police have a suspect in custody which means that you can give your undivided attention to the syllabus which is on your desk outlining this semester." 

Dead body? What the hell? At least they have a suspect in custody. Holy crap though, a dead body. In our old town in Maine there were never any murders. Apparently the climate isn't the only thing different about California.

I glanced down at my desk and caught sight of the aforementioned syllabus, he didn't mention that it was eight pages long. What the hell? How many assignments are we going to have in this class? 

The door to the classroom was then opened and the guidance councilor walked in with another student. She was awkwardly holding her notebooks against her chest while her brown eyes darted around the room. Her hair was dark brown and fell in tight curls around her shoulders, she looked anything but comfortable. 

"Class, this is another one your new students, Allison Argent. Please do your best to make sure she feels welcome." The councilor said as he nodded at the students and then left. I have no idea why so many people are moving to Beacon Hills all of a sudden, apparently there is a serial killer on the loose..

Allison scrambled to the only other empty desk in the room, the one beside me and behind knock-off Bieber. Great, the two new girls are sitting right beside each other. Maybe we can bond over how stupid this school is. Wait-- why didn't I get a personal escort to my first class? 

I watched in confusion as Allison frantically searched around in her bag, but then Bieber boy turned around and offered her a pen. She smiled warmly and whispered out a, thanks. Who the hell forgets a pen on the first day of school?

"We'll begin with Kafka's Metamorphosis on page 133." The teacher called out from behind the desk. I rolled my eyes and pulled the stupid book out of my bag, thank the heavens for Sparknotes.


	2. Chapter 2

[Ariella POV]

 

I was pretty much five seconds away from slamming my head against the wall.

Yes, I could deal with the fact that my parents decided to spring this random divorce on me and my sister Aeryn. I could deal with the fact that I had to completely drop my entire life in Maine and move to Beacon Hills. I could handle my first day and already being split from my sister in more than half our classes.

What I couldn’t deal with was the fact that my sister wasn’t answering her cell.

“Pick up the damn phone Aeryn,” I muttered as I weaved in and out of students.

The first day of school was over. Unfortunately, I did not have last period with Aeryn meaning that I had to hunt her down. I mean, I could just leave without her but that wouldn’t go over well for three reasons: my mom might be upset about it, Aeryn was the one with the car keys and I didn’t know the way home.

So that left me on a quest to find my sister. She was the older sister, hence why she was the one with car access. I thought that was complete bullshit considering the fact that we were both sophomores and it wasn’t like she had done anything extraordinary to receive it. She just happened to be born before me so she gets all the perks. I was just happy that mom didn’t force me to wear her hand-me-downs. I mean, today she walked out of the house looking like the female version of a Winchester brother. I’d rather not look back on my high school career with my sister and I dressed in her clothes looking like the cast of Supernatural.

“This is Aeryn. I’m not here. Here’s the beep, you know what to do with it,” Aeryn’s voice played in my ear.

“You have got to be kidding me right now!” I muttered angrily, slipping my phone into my purse.

She was the older sibling! She was supposed to get me home from here and she won’t even pick up her damn phone. What if I was dying? Or had run into Justin Bieber and needed a hand in killing him?

I was about to get my phone back out and call her again when someone slammed into me. My books flew out of my hand and clattered on the floor. I cringed as I waited for my equilibrium to give out on me and send me crashing to the ground. I stumbled backwards for a few seconds before I managed to stay upright.

“Damn it,” I swore. “I am so so—”

I looked in front of me, seeing the person who I had body checked. And the words seemed to disappear. I had the easiest apology on my tongue and then, nothing. The guy was tall, much taller than I was at least. He had light colored curls springing on top of his head and his eyes were as blue as the ocean. He had a purple bruise on one cheek that seemed like it was only just starting to heal.

He was staring at me wide eyed. I’m pretty sure my face mirrored his. I coughed awkwardly, remembering I hadn’t finished my sentence. Come on Ariella. One more five letter word.

“Sorry,” I blurted out. Great, now I even sounded like an idiot.

I ducked my head and figured that picking up my stuff would be easier than continuing to lock with his bright eyes. I scrambled to get everything back in my grasp. My hand reached out to pick up one last notebook when a pale hand reached out and grabbed it instead. I looked up and the whole awkward eye contact thing started again. He handed me the notebook quickly and I smiled softly.

“I, uh, thanks,” I muttered, turning to shove it back in my bag. “I’m, um, really sorry for hitting you. I’m new and I don’t know where anything is or how to walk down a hallway apparently and…”

I looked up to see he wasn’t listening and instead retreating quickly towards the other end of the hall. He didn’t even look back as he went to turn the corner.

“Nice,” I muttered. “I’m Ariella, queen of the losers incapable of talking to cute guys. May all lesser losers bow down,” I added sarcastically.

Someone bumped into me from behind. I was shoved a few inches forward but ended up keeping hold of my stuff. What was this? Bump into Ariella day?

I spun around and was met with three unfamiliar people, two girls and a guy. The guy was tall, not tall like the blue eyed guy, but still had some height on me. He had sandy blond hair and a smattering of freckles across his prominent cheekbones. He had an arrogant look in his eyes and I could already suspect us not getting along. The first among the girls was slightly timid looking, rubbing a hand on her arm. She had long dark hair and a pair of dimples that were already showing despite her lack of smile. She looked friendly enough.

The last girl, the one who must have bumped into me considering she was the closest, was definitely something. She had curls of silky light red hair and a pair of green eyes. She was dressed in clothes that I knew were expensive; I had spent enough time online shopping to recognize name brands. Her eyes flitted over me like I was at an inspection and she wore a passive expression.

“Hmm…your shoes are to die for,” she mused. Her eyes glanced up to mine. “Where’d you get ‘em?”

“Oh, I got them online,” I responded. At least she wasn’t yelling at me or anything.

She smirked. “And you are my second new best friend of the day,” she said, tossing a look at her female companion. “It seems I’m on a roll today. I’m Lydia Martin.”

“Ariella. Ariella Walker,” I smiled. Okay another interaction going fairly well.

She cocked her head, mulling that answer over. “Cute. This is Allison; she’s new too.”

“Hi,” the dark haired girl grinned.

I grinned. Another new girl huh? At least me and Aeryn wouldn’t be the only ones. I could sense the three of us would probably be friends, complaining about moving and such.

“And this is my boyfriend Jackson,” Lydia squealed, running a hand through the guys hair.

Jackson didn’t look all too happy about that. “Lydia, I’m going to be late for practice.”

Lydia rolled her eyes. Turning to me she asked, “Do you want to come watch lacrosse practice with me and Allison? It’ll be fun; our team has won for three straight years.”

“Um, I actually have to find my sister—”

Lydia latched her hand around my wrist. “Perfect, you’re coming. We can talk shoes.”

She began dragging me down the hallway along with Allison. Jackson walked beside us, seemingly pissed off at something. Maybe he was running out hair product. Ha. Either way, his girlfriend refused to listen to me as I told her that I was meant to be finding Aeryn. I mean, sure she wasn’t answering her phone, but she’d start looking for me eventually.

“Look, I’m glad that you want to hang out but I really need to find—Aeryn!”

So it turns out if you speak of the Devil, she really does appear. My older sister was rummaging through a locker at the end of the hall we were approaching. Her head whipped in our direction. Her eyes finally landed on me and what were apparently my new crowd of friends. She raised an eyebrow and waved awkwardly.

I stopped walking, causing Lydia and Allison to stop as well. Jackson let out a groan at having to stop again.

“Aeryn! Oh thank God,” I said.

Aeryn glanced over my current companions. “Um, no offense, but who are these people?”

“Uh this is Lydia, Allison and Jackson. They’ve invited us to go to lacrosse practice,” I said, hoping to God that she would just go with it.

“Lacrosse? What, you guys too wimpy to play football or something?” Aeryn sassed as she looked at Jackson.

He glared. “You don’t have to come. This one was the only one invited,” he said gesturing to me. And he didn’t really seem too happy that I was going either.

“I’ve made an executive decision,” I snapped. “She’s coming.”

“No, seriously, I’m fine,” Aeryn grimaced as I grabbed her hand.

Lydia shook her head. “It’s settled, you’re coming. Come on.”

Aeryn let out a groan and I knew this wouldn’t be the last we heard her angry mutterings.

Six minutes later, it was clear to me that I knew my own sister as well as I thought. Not once since we had ventured to the field and sat on the metal bleachers had she shut up about being bored. Lydia looked like she was on the verge of slapping my sister; I knew if that actually happened, Aeryn wouldn’t hesitate to fight back.

“This is so stupid,” Aeryn muttered. “Why the hell are we just sitting watching guys throw balls at some kid in the net?”

“You have to admit he’s pretty good,” I replied, watching how the goalie caught ball after ball. He had a rocky start, not being able to catch a thing at all. Honest to God, he had one ball pelt him in the face. Thank God for helmets. Whoever the hell he was, it was almost like he had turned into a different person after that first ball.

“Who is that anyway?” Allison questioned, her brown eyes not having left the player once.

“I don’t know who he is,” Lydia said, cocking her head. “Why?”

“Oh, he’s just in my English class,” Allison responded quickly. She looked down fairly quick but I managed to notice her light blush anyways.

I elbowed her lightly and shot her a grin.

“I don’t like him,” Aeryn said suddenly, “He’s trying to do something Bieber-ish with his hair.”

Lydia rolled her eyes at that, completely ignoring the game going on. “So, there’s a party on Friday. You’re invited. Anyone who’s anyone will be there,” she smiled.

“A party?” Aeryn and I asked at the same time. Literally every movement and word was coordinated; you’d think we practiced it.

Her and Allison looked slightly freaked out, but Lydia regained composure. “As long as you don’t do that creepy twin thing. Both of you are welcome.” A smile was forced at Aeryn. Yeah, she wasn’t the best at making friends. I also let out a tiny giggle at the notion of us being twins. If they only knew.

I looked at my sister and she shrugged. I knew she could get behind a party, no matter how much of a bitch she thought the host was.

I grinned. “We’ll be there.”

Maybe Beacon Hills would be better than we thought.

 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

 

Friday night found Aeryn and me walking down the street to the Martin’s house. We didn’t live in her area, but it seemed as if the entire school had showed up and crowded the street with their vehicles for a block or so. My heels clicked across the pavement and you could hear the light slap of Aeryn’s boots. She was doing the whole Winchester thing again, joy.

“We may be going to her party, but I still don’t like her,” Aeryn complained.

I laughed. “So what, are we going to boycott it and not have fun or something?”

“No, we’re still gonna have fun,” she grinned. “Have a few drinks, dance, and meet guys.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Aeryn, you’re like the poster child for social anxiety. How the hell are you even going to converse with a guy?”

She rolled her eyes. “You aren’t exactly the smoothest person out there either missy,” she replied with a smirk, clearly hinting at the blue eyed guy book fiasco.

“Remind me why I tell you anything anymore?” I groaned, smacking her leather clad arm.

She said nothing as we reached the house. We entered the house and I was met with the stench of alcohol. Music was blaring from a speaker somewhere and the house was flooded with kids. And because Aeryn was Aeryn, the first thing she did was lead us over to the drinks. I was about to remind her of her tendency to be a lightweight, but she shut me up with two red solo cups.

“Oh, red cups,” I mused. “How cliché.”

I peered into the cup, finding some kind of pinkish liquid. I raised my eyebrow again. “Um?”

“Just drink it,” she grinned, raising her own cup. “To Beacon Hills, our own little slice of hell.”

I rolled my eyes, but clinked cups with her nonetheless. When she downed her drink in literally half a second, I knew we were in for it.

 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

 

Aeryn was drunk. No, actually she was wasted. Somehow, every time I looked away she was downing another cup of unidentified liquor. She was laughing uncontrollably; she was an excitable drunk. She was literally flitting around the party like she was the happiest kid alive. I had a tough time keeping up with her. To be honest, I was glad that no one knew us. I don’t think I could handle my sister embarrassing herself like this.

Besides the drunk, I was keeping an eye out for the guy with the blue eyes. I hadn’t seen him since that day and I was starting to get more and more anxious of our next encounter, if we had one at all. I didn’t know his name, I didn’t know anything about him but that didn’t seem to matter. I just wanted to see him again. And figure out why the hell he just walked away from me when I was in the middle of a sentence.

Anyways, Aeryn finally stopped moving and I let out a tiny sigh of relief. Until I saw the kind of position she had placed herself in. She wasn’t doing anything inappropriate, which was good for her sake because I’d probably never let her live it down. No, instead she was just leaning into some random guy. He looked extremely uncomfortable with this, rubbing his free arm against the back of his neck.

“Y-You know, your e-eyes are really pretty,” Aeryn giggled, letting out a small hiccup. I groaned. “A-And your hair is cute too.”

“I, uh,” the boy stammered, a light blush smattering his cheeks.

I grabbed hold of Aeryn’s arm and pulled. “I am so sorry about her. She’s a massive lightweight and tends to be an over friendly drunk.”

“I-I’m not drunk,” she squealed. “I feel fantastic!” she said, smacking her lips together.

I rolled my eyes and the boy shrugged awkwardly. “It’s fine,” he mumbled.

“I’m Ariella,” I said. “I’ll see you around sometime. Hopefully this one’s not drunk off her ass.”

I sent him one last fleeting smile, before dragging Aeryn off. “Come on drunky.”

“B-But me and h-him we’re gonna have fun,” she moaned, sticking her bottom lip out.

I laughed. “Yeah, we’ll see how much fun you want to have in the morning.”


	3. Chapter 3

[Aeryn POV]

 

I've never hated my sister more in my life than I do today. Not only is she being the worst possible hangover helper in the world, but she won't stop playing Ke$ha songs. I was brought out of my coma-like state by her skipping into my room and jerking the curtains open, of course today would be the brightest freaking day I've ever experienced in my entire existence. I'm never drinking again. 

"Come on, you need to get up! It's past noon." My loving sister complained as she jumped onto my bed, disrupting the way I had my blankets surrounding my crumpled up body. I was in a fetal position with a mount of pillows over my head. 

"Just leave me here to die. I'll die a sweet, innocent, virgin." I moaned, praying that she would just leave me alone so I could sleep off this headache. 

Ariella scoffed, "You tried to hook up with a guy last--"

"I'm still dying a virgin!" I cut her off, feeling my cheeks heat up at the reminder of my drunken antics. I've never been one to hold my liquor, and apparently I tend to be entirely too friendly whilst being under the influence. I hope that guy I was throwing myself at was just as wasted as I was, that way he won't remember a thing. 

To be completely honest, I really don't remember much from last night. It's all just one big, loud, drunken blurr. I remember getting there, and drinking this pink and fruity cocktail thing-- but the rest is a little foggy. The part of the evening I remember the most, is when Ariella was supposed to be helping me up the stairs but she let go of my arm and I fell. Thankfully we were only halfway up. 

"Alright, calm down Mary." She chuckled, finding amusement in my suffering and agonizing pain. I'm not surprised, she's a cold hearted person when dealing with her hungover sister. I should know this by now.

"Seriously, go be a comedian." I groaned, maybe she'll take the hint and leave me the hell alone. Next time she gets drunk of her ass and winds up having the worst hangover of the century, I will be there to make it even more miserable. She will rue this day. 

Ariella sighed and plucked my pillow shield from my head, "I really do want to talk about last night. Who was that guy that you totally made a fool out of yourself in front of?"

"Are you sure that wasn't you?" I retorted, knowing that it would aggravate her because of her little run-in with blue-eyed blondie. I've been referring to him as baby deer, because apparently she spooked him-- like a baby deer. I'm pretty sure she smacked me upside the head for that nickname last night. As I said before, it's a little foggy.

She narrowed her eyes at me, "Ha ha, maybe you should be the one considering becoming a comedian." 

"Been there done that. I just want to sleep, El!" I whined and snatched the pillows back, recreating my little mountain atop my head. 

My sister groaned and slid off my bed, "Fine. I'll go eat a nice big, fat, and juicy--" she didn't get to finish her nauseating statement before I jumped out of bed and sprinted to the bathroom, puking my guts out. I could hear her giggling from the hallway, bitch.

 

➴ ➵ ➶ ➷ 

 

Saturday was awful. I spent the entire day sleeping, puking, and watching re-run's of Supernatural, we're talking season one-- with no Castiel. Ariella was pestering me about the boy I had thrown myself at all day, but I didn't know the guy's name, and to be honest-- I don't think I want to. Sunday was better, I was able to eat again, which is always a plus. I then spent the rest of the day online shopping from the comfort of my bed. 

The weekend was over entirely too quickly, and I was already back to the hellhole most people call school. Why do I call school the hellhole? Well that's simple. Today has been the absolute worst day I've ever had in my life. First, I was late waking up because my alarm didn't go off, which means I didn't get any breakfast. Second, I realized I started my period in the middle of the night and the cramps were killing me, because of this my emotions were a wreck and I actually cried as I drove to school from my lack of food. The crying led to my eyeliner running, so I had to bolt to the bathroom to try and fix it, that resulted in me being late to class and getting a lunch detention. In Chemistry my pen exploded on my shirt, and I just happened to be wearing white, and the pen was red. That reminded me of being on my period so again my emotions were all over the place and I went to the bathroom after class and cried some more. Ariella hasn't texted me back all day, and now I'm sitting in my lunch detention-- on the verge of another breakdown.

 

I'm not going to cry. This stupid school has already brought me to tears twice today, and I refuse to let it happen a third time. A little voice in the back of my head is saying that my crying isn't just because of my bad day or my overload of emotions, it's telling me that it's because I'm upset that my parents split and we had to move across the country so suddenly. I decided to tell that voice to shut up, because I don't want to think about all of that right now. 

"Miss Walker, your fifteen minutes is up. You are dismissed. I hope this helped instill the rule of being on time." Mr. Jacobs sighed as he flipped to another page in his book.

I hastily grabbed my bag and nodded, "I'll be sure to be on time from now on." I was in such a rush to get out of the classroom, that I was practically running through the halls to my locker. I need to switch out my books and meet up with Ariella in the lunchroom, lord knows who she ended up having to sit with because I wasn't there. 

My combination was simple to remember, 15-25-5, and I have not had any issues with getting my locker open at all since I've been here, but of course since today is like National Everything Go Wrong For Aeryn Day, my locker wasn't opening. 

"Seriously? Come on," I complained as I hit my locker in annoyance. I took a deep breath and twisted in my combination again, only to reach the same end-result... a jammed locker. 

"Do you want some help?" 

I jumped at the sudden sound of another voice, upon whipping my head around I caught sight of the boy that I sit behind in English. He was wearing yet another plaid shirt over a graphic tee, and a pair of jeans with some Vans. He literally wears the same type of outfit every single day.

"That depends, do you think you can get my locker open?" I chuckled bitterly while wiping the back of my hand under my eye, great-- now I'm crying again. This guy is going to think I'm a total nutjob.

He nodded, "My locker did this a lot last year. What's your combination?" 

"15-25-5." I replied quietly, watching him drop his bag to the floor and approach my locker. He flicked the dial to the designated numbers and pressed his knee into the door as he pulled up the lever, causing the locker to swing open effortlessly. 

I sighed in relief, "Thank you so much. I've had the worst day imaginable."

"Yeah, I could tell." He responded. I glanced at him oddly, and his eyes widened, "I--I mean, you looked upset in English. And then the pen in Chemistry." 

At the mention of the pen explosion, I glanced down at my stained shirt sadly. I just bought this and now it's ruined. Today has officially been the worst possible day of my life. 

I nodded sadly, "It's been a rough day."

"Uh, don't take this the wrong way or anything... but you don't have a lot of friends here, do you?" He asked slowly, cautiously trying to word his question correctly to where he didn't sound like an asshole. 

A laugh escaped me, "What gave that away? Was it the leather jacket?"

He smiled and shook his head from side to side, "No it wasn't the jacket, I just noticed that you eat lunch with your twin and you don't really talk to anyone. And at the party on Friday when you were hitting on me you didn't talk to anyone else--"

"I'm gonna stop you right there for a second. Did you say when I was hitting on you at the party?" I asked with wide eyes, oh my god.

He nodded, "Yes... do you not remember that?"

"Oh my god. No, I don't. I'm sorry, I guess. I tend to be a little friendly when I drink and if I did something that made you uncomfortable I'm sorry." I rambled, my cheeks going about as red as the ink on my shirt. I can't believe it was the guy that sits in front of me in English class that I hit on. 

"Uh, it's fine-- I mean, I wasn't really all that sober either but, um... I was saying if you wanted a friend, I'd love to take the position." He stammered out awkwardly as he rubbed at the back of his neck. A weird sense of deja-vu passed through me at the sight. 

I blinked rapidly when it clicked what he was doing. He was offering to be my friend, and I would be the biggest idiot in the freaking world if I turned him down on that offer. He's nice, helped me with my locker, and wears Vans-- he's alright in my book. 

"I actually would really like that because I need some friends." I chuckled lightly. 

He grinned, "Well since we're friends now I should probably introduce myself. I'm Stiles."

I quirked an eyebrow, "Stiles? Your parents named you Stiles?"

"No, no. They named me something else, after my mom's dad... but I prefer to not go by that name because it's kind of not cool and I prefer to go by Stiles." He explained with a smile. Why is he always smiling? 

I nodded once, "Well Stiles, I think this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

"So, do you want to go to the cafeteria now or?" Stiles asked me awkwardly, nodding his head in the direction of said cafeteria. 

Wait a second, "What are you doing out here anyway?"

His eyes widened, "Uh.. nothing. I was going to my locker too, and then I heard you and came to see what was wrong."

"You heard me crying?" I gasped in embarrassment. If there is one thing that I do not do, it's cry in front of people-- except Ariella. 

Stiles bit his lip and nodded slowly, obviously not sure on whether or not if he should verbally respond to the question. I buried my face in my hands and let out a muffled groan of annoyance. I can't believe I was crying that loud that he head me from the other end of the hallway. 

"It's okay to cry at school, I used to do it after my mom died." He said quickly, I pulled my hands away from my face and caught sight of him watching me with a worried expression. I take it he doesn't see girls cry a lot. 

"Stiles, I'm so sorry I'm being such a baby--" I began to ramble once more but he caught me off by shaking his head from side to side rapidly. I clamped my mouth shut and let him speak.

He started off by offering me a small smile, "You're not being a baby. It's okay to cry, sometimes you have to cry, whether it be over something stupid or something detrimental. If we're going to be friends, Aeryn, you're gonna have to trust me enough to cry in front of me." He chuckled a bit to try and lighten the mood, and I couldn't help but smile softly. 

I sighed and nodded once, "You're right... I'm being stupid--"

"Don't call yourself stupid either," He mumbled as he chuckled again. 

"You're bossy." I remarked as I closed my locker and slung my bag over my shoulder. Stiles snatched his up off the ground and adjusted it on his shoulder, "You'll come to find that I am many things, Aeryn. And being bossy, is the least annoying of my habits."


	4. Chapter 4

[Ariella POV]

 

“Come on, we’re going to be late for lunch,” Lydia said, walking at least five steps in front of Allison and I. Her mega high heels clacked against the floor and people seemed to scatter at the sight of her.

Allison and I exchanged a glance and I rolled my eyes with a laugh. I had only been here for a few days and already I could tell Lydia was going to be a pain in the ass. And trust me, I know pains; I did grow up with Aeryn after all.

Speaking of my sister, when she woke up on Saturday, she had absolutely no recollection of who she was hitting on. I could swear she knew though, I mean she had to remember that right? I remembered the kid fairly well enough and I could swear he was in our chemistry class. And possibly economics as well. I’d have to double check with Allison about the identity of mystery plaid shirt boy.

I also still had to figure out who that kid from my first day was. I could remember his face just as clearly I could know Aeryn’s. I didn’t know why it was so important to know who he was, but I tend to leave behind all rationality when I am determined about something. I would find this kid even if it killed me.

Aeryn had started referring to him as baby dear which made me want to slap her. She said by the description of my story, I had clearly spooked him. That didn’t make any sense though. What was so frightening about me? It wasn’t like I was some kind of nut job monster, filled with enough rage to wipe out an entire village or something. I was just me, a teenage girl who wore skirts and lip balm. Nothing too scary about it.

My sister suggested that maybe he was afraid of meeting new people. Or just didn’t like talking to new people. I had responded saying that she was the most anti-social person I knew and even she could talk to new people. Drunk or not.

Even if this guy was afraid of me or new people or the least friendly person on the planet, that didn’t stop me from thinking about him. Especially those blue eyes…

“Ariella!” I heard Lydia screech, snapping me from my reverie.

My eyes snapped up from where they were looking down at my shoes. “What? Is there a fire?”

Allison let out a laugh. “No, you completely spaced out. We’ve been trying to get your attention for like three minutes.”

“Oh, uh,” I said, running a hand through my hair. “Sorry?”

“What were you even thinking about?” Lydia questioned. “Was it a guy?”

My eyes widened. Nope, nope, not having this discussion. “What, me? No, of course not! I just, uh, remembered I need to go, um, get a book from my locker!”

Lydia raised one perfectly arched eyebrow at me before shrugging. “Whatever. Just meet us in the cafeteria,” she responded, looping an arm through Allison’s.

She left no room for any argument or disagreement and began yanking the other new kid off in that direction. I shook my head at her and turned around, heading back in the direction of my own locker. Lydia Martin sure was something else.

I ran a hand through my hair, trying to get to my locker and then back to lunch as quickly as possible. I soon found the familiar row of lockers that would be my miniature home for the foreseeable future here. My locker was smack in the middle of everything, right near a stairwell and towards the main exit.

Aeryn wasn’t at her locker, which happened to be right next to mine. I knew she had been having a rough day, between cramps, an exploding pen in chem and getting a lunch detention. Mr. Jacobs was now on my hate list, leaving me to have lunch with Miss Strawberry Blonde. It wasn’t like I didn’t like Lydia. It was quite the opposite actually, considering how unbelievably nice she was being to me. It’s just that I’d rather have lunch with my older sister, no matter how much she annoyed me sometimes.

After my parents had dropped the divorce bomb on us, Aeryn was kind of all I had at some points, though I always made it seem like I was perfectly capable of handling myself. I generally had to be the strong one, despite being younger, and look out for my sister. Hence why she got drunk and I had to haul her sorry ass home.

I sighed, exchanging a few text books and touching up my eyeliner in the tiny locker mirror I had. “Smile El, you’re beautiful.”

 

I’m pretty sure I had read that off a fortune cookie somewhere, but whatever. I grinned and slammed the locker shut. Off to lunch I go.

By the time I made it there, the lunchroom was already jam packed. I bit the inside of my cheek, glancing across the crowds of laughing teenagers, none of who were familiar to me at all. If Lydia and Allison were here, they clearly were fading into the background. Just fantastic.

And I then it happened. My eyes landed on an almost empty table, only holding two people. They were both at opposite ends, not saying a word to each other; if they knew one another, it didn’t look like it from here. The kid at the far end of the table was the one who caught my attention. I almost missed him due to the fact he was hunched over his lunch.

But I knew it was him. It was that kid from last week. I took a deep breath, planning my next move. I knew it was totally weird for me to just plop myself down at his table and all, but I had to figure at least one thing out about this kid. Whether it was why he sat alone or his name, it didn’t matter. Lydia wouldn’t miss me too much anyhow.

So there I was, venturing over to what looked like it was the table of loners. Apparently Beacon Hills had few loners considering there were only two people there. Aeryn would probably fit right in.

I yanked the chair directly across from blue eyes back and sat down. I dropped my bag on the ground and placed my water bottle and brown paper bag on the table. At the sight of objects being placed across from him, he looked up.

I swear to God, if it were possible, his eyes would have fallen out of his head. He looked at me with a mixture of confusion and panic. What was with this kid?

“Hi,” I chirped. He just stared. “We, uh, didn’t exactly meet properly. Sorry again for ramming into you the other day.”

Silence. He just continued to stare I cocked my head at him and I raised an eyebrow. He coughed awkwardly and looked down. I uncapped my water and took a quick sip before putting it back down.

“Can you talk?” I asked. He looked back up and nodded. “Well, Mr. I Can Talk, do you have a name.”

“Uh, Lahey. Isaac Lahey,” he mumbled lowly.

Well that was one mystery out of the way. I smiled softly. “Isaac,” I said, the name rolling off my tongue. “I’m Ariella.”

“I know,” he responded quickly. I just stared at him and he bit his lip. “You’re uh, in my English class. And French and chemistry.”

Now it was my turn for my eyes to widen much farther than they should. He was in three of my classes? How the hell did I manage to miss him? I spent all last week looking for him and he was in three of my classes?

“How the hell did I not see you?” I blurted out before better judgment could stop me. “I mean, uh, not that I was looking for you. I just don’t know how I didn’t uh, recognize you.”

Nice save Ariella. He probably thinks you’re some deranged stalker now. Might as well drop out of school and parade around in a white minivan.

“I sit at the back,” he responded quietly, still not looking directly at me like when I first sat down.

He seemed jittery and inexplicably nervous about something. I just couldn’t place it though. I really hope it didn’t have anything to do with me. This was technically our first conversation and I didn’t want him to have a problem with me or anything.

“Are you okay?” I asked hesitantly.

He nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Really?” I asked. “Because you look otherwise.”

“Why aren’t you sitting with Lydia or your sister?” he asked suddenly, looking up and locking eyes with me.

I blinked in confusion, trying not to go on a monologue about his eyes for the fiftieth time since last week. “Oh, Aeryn has lunch detention and I couldn’t find Lydia or Allison when I walked in. I saw you and figured sitting here would be my best bet.”

“You want to sit with me?” he asked, seeming bewildered that a notion like that would have ever crossed my mind.

“No, I’m sitting here because I admire the wood of the chair,” I said sarcastically. “Yes, I wanted to sit with you. You seemed nice enough and I thought we could be friends. Unless that guy over there is a better friend than I could be,” I said, jerking my thumb in the direction of the other kid at the table.

 

“Why do you wanna be friends with me?” he asked.

I shrugged. “I’m new here. And honestly you seem like a lot less high maintenance than Lydia. Besides, I didn’t really have many guy friends back in Maine. So you Isaac Lahey, are the first. Congratulations,” I grinned.

A tiny ghost of a smile flitted across his face. At least he appreciated my sense of humor. My eyes were distracted for a few seconds, noticing the faint purple under his eye. It was the same bruise I noticed before and it seemed to definitely be healing.

“What happened?” I questioned, gesturing to his cheek with my finger.

He just looked down. “I…lacrosse practice.”

“You’re on the lacrosse team?” I asked and a sense of relief seemed to wash over him.

He began explaining how he was on the bench with someone named Greenburg and Stilinski. And how Coach Finstock only really appreciated Jackson and Scott McCall, who also happened to be the guy Allison has been fawning over.

But my mind wasn't really processing what he was saying, just kind of focused on his cheek. I had a feeling lacrosse practice was a total lie; he said he was on the bench and benched players didn’t participate in practice. And then there was the fact that he seemed to be all too relieved to get off the topic of the bruise itself. Something wasn’t right.

But I pushed away the nagging voice and instead tried to focus on the words of Isaac. I barely knew the kid, but I had a feeling that something much bigger would come from the friendship than expected.

 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

 

“You ditched us at lunch,” was the first thing I heard when Aeryn and I finally found Allison and Lydia amongst the crowd.

We were all bundled up, bracing ourselves against the cold. Aeryn had complained the whole ride, not really understanding why she had to be present at the game. She said that school was a place to be at during the day, not night. I had told her if she wanted even a sliver of a social life, she’d have to venture out into the outdoors at some point. And besides, if we were ever going to adjust to this town, we had to attempt to fit in.

I will admit, I was freezing though.

“Oh, I couldn’t find you,” I lied, not really wanting to get into why I didn’t have lunch with them. Aeryn shot me a smirk and I rolled my eyes. I really have to stop telling her things.

Allison laughed. “Hey Ariella, Aeryn. This is my dad,” she said gesturing to an older man next to him.

“Oh, hi. Nice to meet you Mr. Argent!” I grinned, plopping down on the bench next to Lydia. Aeryn sighed and sat next to me.

“It’s too cold for this,” she muttered, jamming her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket.

“You and that leather jacket, I swear,” I laughed. In a lower tone, I added, “Maybe you should go find Stiles. Bet he could keep you warm.”

She groaned and cringed, putting her face in her hands. I let out a bark of laughter. At least I had dirt on her as well. It was a win-win situation. I scanned my eyes across the crowd, finding the normally plaid wearing boy sitting on the bench. I went to go tease Aeryn about it but I stopped when my eyes landed on something else.

Isaac Lahey was next to Stiles on the bench, the number fourteen splayed across the back of his jersey. Wow, I found him twice in one day. I should go home and see if I’m capable of finding Waldo now. His head turned, almost as if he knew someone was watching him. He found me almost immediately and I realized I must have looked completely nuts just looking at him like a freak. Even from up here, I could see a light blush smattering his cheeks as he realized it was me.

I put my hand up meekly and let a small wave out. The corner of his lip turned upwards.

“Who the hell are you waving at?” someone asked from beside me.

I turned quickly, seeing Lydia staring at me with a confused expression. I looked down at my hand which was still up. Within seconds I began shaking it wildly.

“Oh, uh, hand cramps,” I responded.

She gave me a weird look before pulling up a poster from near her feet. We love Jackson was scrawled across it in paint and there were a few hearts around it as well. “Whatever. Help me hold this.”

I groaned as she tugged me to my feet. She let out a scream as the players rushed onto the field. But it was drowned out by the cheers of the crowd as the game began. We stood on our tip toes, waving the sign. Well she was, my side was pretty much just being held up.

And as the lacrosse ball was put in and the game began, I found the only thing capturing my attention was Isaac.


	5. Chapter 5

[Aeryn POV]

 

The lacrosse game was a terrible experience. I had to listen to Lydia whine about Jackson the entire freaking time, constantly be bumped on the shoulder by Ariella's knee because Lydia was forcing her to hold up a sign to encourage Jackson, and finally freeze my pretty little ass off because apparently denim isn't a very good insulator. I was hoping to maybe get to see Stiles play, you know to give us something to talk about-- but for some reason he was sat on the bench the entire game, right beside baby deer. I mean Isaac, his name is Isaac.

From what I've gathered about Isaac, he's super quiet. Apparently he is in mine and Ariella's Chemistry class, but I've never noticed him. When I told my sister that she then explained how he sat in the back and kept to himself. I have no idea why she is so hell-bent on being this kids friend, but whatever-- she needs friends and he seems nice enough. It's kind of nice how we both have someone to be friends with. I have Stiles and she has Isaac. 

"Where the hell did you get that shirt?" My sister gasped as I strolled into the kitchen in my pajama's. She had her hair pulled up into a bun on the top of her head and was wearing a pair of shorts with a shirt that had crosses printed on it. 

I glanced down at my shirt, "This? I bought it back in Maine, isn't it funny?"

"DTF? What does that even mean?" She inquired as I began to dig through the fridge in search of something to eat, I haven't eaten for like... two hours. 

We literally have no snack food in this kitchen, what kind of house with two teenagers doesn't have one type of snack food? I settled on a peanut butter bagel, I didn't bother trying to toast it, I already know how that would turn out. 

"Oh, DTF means down to... you know." I responded before taking a bite of my bagel. Crunchy peanut butter is hands down the best kind of peanut butter out there. 

Ariella rose an eyebrow, "And you bought that shirt why?" 

"I thought it was funny? Why do I do half the things that I do, El... come on." I rolled my eyes and took another bite out of my bagel. 

Much like most teenager's out there, I get bored very easily.. and I tend to do things that could be frowned upon to ease that boredom. Hence why I bought a shirt about having sex, just because I could. One time, I set off a firework in our old living room because Ariella had dared me too, and it was the fourth of July, so why not? 

It didn't end well.

"That was a dumb question, you're right. Anyway, did you have fun at the game tonight?" She asked before she hopped up on the counter and positioned herself Indian style. 

I let out a laugh, "Yeah it was the most fun I've had in years. I'm sure my amount of fun can't even be compared to yours though, right? I mean with staring at Isaac the entire freaking time."

Her cheeks went fire engine red and she shot me a look, "I did not stare the entire time."

"Oh, you so did. I mean and then the wave, nice save with the whole cramps excuse by the way." I smirked then ducked from the serving spoon that she had chucked at my head, it hit the center piece on the dining room table and the glass shattered. 

My eyes went wide before I busted out laughing as I watched my sister scramble off the counter and over to the vase she just destroyed, "Mom is gonna be pissed. She loved that vase, I think grandma got it for her, you know... before she died." I cackled. I have no idea if our grandma had bought the vase, I was just making my sister rue the whole hangover thing.

"What?!" Ariella shrieked, dropping to the floor and attempting to put the pieces of the vase back together, it was a lost cause. There were too many small chips missing and even if she did manage to super-glue all of the large pieces back together, it wouldn't look right and mom would surely notice.

I shrugged, "And that my dear sister, is why you don't go around throwing large kitchen utensils at people. See, I can give you life lessons." 

"Shut up and help me." She complained, and I --being the wonderful sister that I am-- crouched down on the floor and assisted her in throwing away the pieces of glass from the vase that could very well be from our dead grandmother, into the trash can. 

My eyes widened when an idea hit me, "We can just go out and buy a similar looking vase. I'm sure if it looks enough like that one, mom won't even notice."

 

Ariella groaned, "We're in our pajamas and it's like midnight. Where are we going to go that sells vases?" 

"I'm sure there is a 24-hour craft store around Beacon Hills somewhere! Come now darling, it's time for an adventure! I'm driving!" I shouted as I slipped on my beloved leather jacket and my boots. I looked like a right fool in my leggings and DTF shirt, but hey it's not like I'm going to be judged at a craft store of all places. 

 

➴ ➵ ➶ ➷ 

 

"Honestly, I don't think she's gonna notice." I stated as Ariella and I studied the new vase on our dining room table. Last night it took us a good hour and a half to find a craft store that was open, the place was pretty creepy and I had been wrong-- you can be judged at a craft store. I had never imagined old women to be so rude. The lady behind the register had told me she found my shirt offensive, first of all I'm surprised she could even read it, she had to be pushing like 105 or something, and second of all I made the comment about how she knew what it meant, which I guess implied she was a bad person or something because she got pissed and kicked me out of the store. Long story short, Ariella got the vase solo while I sat in the car and played Flappy Bird on my phone. 

My sister nodded, "I think it'll work."

"Awesome, crisis adverted. Now we have to go to school, so let's get to it." I grinned as I ushered her out of the house.

The ride to school was spent with mindless conversation about our small adventure last night and how we were both exhausted. I hate getting out of bed unless I've had at least nine hours of sleep, and considering I only got like three last night, I'm not exactly fully functioning. My sass may be at a minimum for today. Lucky bitches at school won't get to experience my full wrath.

I parked my car beside the blue jeep and slid out into the morning air, thankfully it wasn't as cold as it had been at the game last night. I decided to wear a skater dress today with some leggings, you know attempting to not seem so stand-off like, even though I felt super badass dressing like a Winchester.

"What's up with the camera crew?" My sister asked as she jutted her thumb in the direction of the aforementioned group of people scrambling around the parking lot. They did in fact have large camera's with them as they headed in the direction of the bus garage. 

I shrugged, "Who knows. Maybe their was like an EPA violation that someone reported or something."

"Well that's reassuring. We could very well be walking into a disease ridden hot-spot." Ariella remarked as she slung her bag over her shoulder and made her way towards the school, I followed after her, glancing at the camera crew one last time. 

Upon entering the school, whispers from the groups of people at their lockers confirmed that something had definitely went down in the bus garage last night. Ariella rose an eyebrow at me in confusion and I just shrugged in response, I don't like the vibe I'm getting from all of the murmurs. In order to get my locker open, I did the trick that Stiles had shown me, and it worked. I'll have to thank him again for that bit of advice. 

"What do you think happened?" Ariella asked me just before I slammed my locker shut. I glanced around the hall to find more people crowding around lockers, whispering to one another. 

I chuckled, "Maybe someone died?"

 

➴ ➵ ➶ ➷ 

 

New rule: Do not joke about someone dying in a time of uncertainty. 

I had totally been kidding about the whole thing, but when I strolled into Chemistry class and sat down at the bench beside Ariella she had a grim expression on her face-- the same expression she wore when mom had told us that she and dad were getting a divorce.

"What's wrong?" I asked in confusion.

She swallowed nervously, "Did you not hear about what happened?"

"No?" I responded slowly, why does she look like she's seen a ghost or something? Not that she actually believes in anything supernatural of the sort, but you get my point. 

Ariella blinked a few times before sighing, "Apparently a guy was like killed in one of the buses last night."

Well then... okay, apparently I can't joke about people dying in Beacon Hills, I forgot that people tend to die here, like... a lot.

Stiles and Scott, a.k.a. Bieber wannabe a.k.a. new star player of the lacrosse team a.k.a. Stiles' best friend, were having a hushed conversation behind us. I happened to here the words "werewolf oven" and then our asshat of a teacher, Mr. Harris, interjected as he spun around from the board, he had been teaching I guess.. I wouldn't know, I hadn't been paying attention.

"Mister Stilinski, are we interrupting something between you and Mister McCall? Because if that's your idea of a hushed conversation, you may want to consider taking the headphones out every once in a while." 

I didn't have to turn around to see the look of annoyance on Stiles' face, from what I've gathered from Mr. Harris thus far... he can not stand Stiles. I presume it has to do with his sarcastic attitude, but hey, I could be wrong. 

"I think some separation between you two would be a great idea." Mr. Harris added before Stiles could put his two-sense in. 

The sound of surprise from Stiles was heard throughout the room, "Actually--" Stiles didn't get to finish his protest as Mr. Harris pointed towards the empty bench on the other side of the room. Stiles huffed and snatched up his bag as he sulked over to his new seat for the day. 

"Let me know if the separation anxiety get's to be too much," He chuckled and then spun back around to the board. Stiles laughed humorlessly and shot our teacher an annoyed look.

Ariella elbowed me with a smirk plastered on her face, "Do you wanna go sit with Stiles so you two can have some fun."

I rose an eyebrow, "Depends, do you want to go and sit with Isaac so you can stare and wave at him awkwardly?"

"Touche," She muttered.

I pulled out my book after that and flipped to the pages necessary so I could try to make some sense out of the notes that Harris had scribbled all over the board. I hate Chemistry. I don't know why I need to know how Ionic and Covalent bonds work. How is that going to help me get somewhere in life?

"I think they found something!" A girl shrieked, she then stumbled over to the window. The rest of the class reacted instantly and followed after her, my sister not being an exception. I slid off the stool and attempted to get a glimpse of what everyone was looking at, but I couldn't see anything over the mass of people in front of me. How the hell did Ariella get all the way to the window? Her shortness comes in handy in times like these.

Simultaneously, everyone at the window then gasped and jumped back in surprise. An idiot in a lacrosse hoodie that had the last name of Greenburg printed on it, bumped into me and I stumbled back towards my stool. Asshole.

"Hey that's good right? He's not dead, dead guys can't do that." Stiles' voice flitted through the air. I turned around to see that he and Scott were standing off to the other side of the room, and Stiles had placed a reassuring hand on his best friend's shoulder.

Scott swallowed dryly, "No, I did that." 

Wait a minute, what did he just say? No, I must have heard him incorrectly or something because there is no way that Scott just said he almost killed someone. Stiles and Scott then both snapped their heads in my direction and they were wearing the same shocked expression. I quickly ducked my head and hopped back onto my stool, just catching the sound of my name leaving Stiles' lips as he whispered something to Scott.


	6. Chapter 6

[Ariella POV]

 

My first impression of Stiles was that he was entirely too twitchy.

I was being serious. The kid seemed to have far too much trouble staying still for an extended period of time. Considering that Aeryn was seemingly going to be spending a lot of time with this kid, I felt it was my duty to figure out who he was.

And the first thing I realized was that he was too twitchy. After that, I could pretty much tell that he and Aeryn belonged together. They both had the same sense of sarcasm and had a sharp tongue that was generally frowned upon. Seeing the way that he and Mr. Harris conversed only furthered my belief that this kid was the male, hyperactive, friendly version of my sister.

“I’m telling you,” I started as Aeryn and I walked down the hall towards the cafeteria. “You two should be together or something. You could be the next it couple or something!”

“Okay first, I think I’d have to be popular for that to happen. And if being popular means listening to Lydia drone on about split ends and fall colors,” Aeryn retorted. “I think I’ll pass. And we’re just friends.”

“For now,” I smirked. “Next thing you know, you two are getting, uh, what was that word? Oh yeah, DTF.”

Her eyes widened and she pushed my arm, causing me to stumble. Instead of hitting hard metal lockers like I thought I would, I hit a body. An arm encircled my wrist causing me to stay upright and I let out a sigh of relief.

I looked up and bit my lip. Aeryn was so going to pay for this. “Hey Isaac.”

“H-Hey Ariella. You okay?” he asked slowly, and I swore concern flashed through his eyes.

I stared at him blankly for a few seconds before the sounds of Aeryn’s subtle (read: obnoxious) sniggering brought me out of it. “Yeah, no, I’m fine! Totally fine! Just uh, heels you know? Well, you probably wouldn’t know because you’re a guy and…I’m just going to stop talking.”

Isaac let out a tiny chuckle at my rampant over-explanations. I could feel a grin bubble to the service at the sight of his face and I bit my lip to hold it back. Aeryn was watching us like it was some kind of comedy act and I knew she was probably seconds away from clutching her stomach and rolling around on the floor in tears.

“Isaac, uh, this is my sister Aeryn,” I said, gesturing to the laughing girl.

“Hi, I’ve heard a lot about you,” she grinned, sending me a devious look.

My eyes widened and I was trying to stop myself from choking. What the hell was she doing?

Isaac smiled awkwardly. I knew he didn’t have friends, so Aeryn was probably being a little overbearing with the grinning and the laughing. Since when did she grin so much? Then again she was apparently plotting my destruction so I guess the grins made sense.

“You should join us for lunch,” she continued. “I’m sure El would love that? Right El?”

I’m going to kill her, I thought. Just gonna kill her. First she gets me to break our mom’s favorite vase, now she was doing this at my expense. My sister was evil sometimes, I swear. My cherry red cheeks were proof.

“I-I, I actually have to go retake a test,” Isaac said quickly. I could feel my heart drop slightly. Great, now I was upset he was leaving. What the hell was going on with me?

He ran a hand through his hair and he seemed to cringe when his hand brushed his face slightly. A small yellowish bruise was under his hairline, barely visible. But that definitely wasn’t the one I saw a while ago. What was going on with him?

He shot me a small smile. “Bye Ariella.”

He turned and headed down the hall. When he was out of an earshot, I spun on my heel to face Aeryn. She was making kissy faces at me.

“You’re a horrible person,” I snapped, grabbing her arm and dragging her to the cafeteria.

She shrugged. “I know. It keeps me awake at night.”

 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

 

“We’ll figure it out,” I heard Stiles say as Aeryn and I approached their table.

Apparently we were sitting with them today. Wonder how Lydia was going to react to that. She seemed to have some kind of obsessive thing over me and Allison. We were the fashionable new girls and she was claiming us. I don’t know why. But it was kind of funny to watch sometimes when she flipped out at random people who tried to talk to us.

“Figure what out?” Aeryn asked.

Scott McCall and Stiles looked up to see us standing behind them. Aeryn plopped down next to her newfound friend and I decided to slide in next to Scott. This was weird. I was being forced to sit with people I had met…never.

“Uh, just, uh, homework,” Scott lied horribly. Stiles eyes were wide.

From the look on Aeryn’s face, she clearly didn’t believe them. I merely shrugged, not seeing a problem with their answer. What was up with Aeryn?

“This is my sister,” Aeryn said to Stiles after a moment.

He nodded. “We met.”

My mind flashed back to Lydia’s party, when I practically had to peel Aeryn off him. “Oh yeah, hi.”

“That’s Scott,” Stiles grinned, pointing to the curly haired kid next to me.

“Right, Allison’s new love interest,” I smirked, causing him to blush.

“Whose Allison’s new love interest?” a voice said from behind me. I looked back and saw Lydia.

What the hell? Why was Lydia over here? This wasn’t where she sat? She sat at what she called ‘the important table’? Last time I checked, that was over on the other side.

“Oh just great,” Aeryn sighed under her breath as Lydia took a seat next to me. Stiles let out a chuckle.

Another chair scraped the floor and I looked up to see Allison settling in next to a suddenly gleeful Scott. That boy had it bad.

“Why is she siting with us?” Stiles whispered to Scott.

Danny Mahealani slipped in next to Stiles. Stiles grinned at him and Danny only turned his head. I’m guessing they don’t get along.

Jackson appeared, much to Aeryn’s dismay, looking pointedly at the kid sitting at the head of the table. “Move.”

“Why don’t you ever ask Danny to move?” Dylan Peters asked. Or at least I think that’s what Lydia said his name was.

“Because I don’t stare at his girlfriend’s coin slot,” Danny smirked. I let out a laugh.

“Fine, maybe I’ll stare at someone else,” Peters said, grinning at Aeryn and me.

We gave each other a look before looking back at him. “Get in line, creep.”

He looked taken aback before glaring and heading to find a seat on the far end of the table.

 

“So,” Danny began after the weirdo was out of sight. “I hear they’re saying it was some type of an animal attack. Probably a cougar.”

“I heard mountain lion,” Jackson snapped superiorly.

“A cougar is a mountain lion,” Lydia deadpanned.

Jackson raised an eyebrow, as did everyone else. Did Lydia just…make an intelligent assumption?

“Isn’t it?” Lydia asked dumbly after a second. What was that all about?

“Who cares,” Jackson said. “The guy’s probably some homeless tweaker who’s going to die anyways.”

“Your sensitivity is astounding,” Aeryn said sarcastically.

He glared at her.

“Actually,” Stiles cut in, tapping away on his phone. “I just found out who it is. Check it out.”

He put his phone in the middle of the table, turning on some video that was from the news. It identified the victim as a man named Garrison Meyers, who supposedly survived. That was the guy from earlier today.

“I know this guy,” Scott said suddenly.

“You do?” Allison asked, speaking for the first time.

“Yeah, when I used to take the bus back when I lived with my dad. He was the driver.”

“Can we talk about something slightly more fun, please?” Lydia asked, clearly bored with the conversation. “Like where we’re going tomorrow night!”

Allison looked over with wide eyes. “Huh?”

“You said you and Scott were hanging out tomorrow night? Right?” she asked.

Oh crap.

“Uh, we were thinking of what we were going to do,” Allison offered meekly. I think everyone knew what was coming next.

 

“Well, I’m not sitting at home watching lacrosse videos, so if the four of us are hanging out tomorrow night, we are doing something fun.”

Oh, God. Did she just invite herself on their date?

“H-hanging out?” Scott stuttered, looking for Allison to say something. 

Her eyes were wide. “It could be fun…”

“You know what else sounds fun?” Jackson intervened, picking up his fork. “Stabbing myself in the face with this fork.”

“I volunteer as tribute,” Aeryn said lowly, earning another laugh from Stiles. 

“Stop it,” Lydia told him, pulling the fork from his hand. “We could make it a triple date, it you to want to come.”

She was looking at me.

“What? Me?”

“Yeah, we could set you up, it’ll be great!”

I looked over at Aeryn who was shaking her head and was pantomiming slicing her neck. At least she understood.

“Uh, thanks for the offer, but I, uh, have to study!” I cried.

Lydia looked disappointed and Allison looked at me wearily. Sorry Argent, I was not going to suffer with her. No way in hell.

“You two are dating,” she said. “Right?”

“How about bowling?” Lydia gasped excitedly. Guess I was safe now. She turned to Jackson. “You love to bowl!”

“Yeah, with actual competition,” he sighed.

“Well, how do you know we’re not actual completion?” Allison smirked. She turned to Scott. “You can bowl, right?”

“Sort of,” he replied. Didn’t really sound believable though.

“Is it sort of or yes?” Jackson asked.

‘No’ Stiles mouthed to Aeryn, who cringed.

“Yes,” Scott said sternly. “In fact, I’m a great bowler.”

I had a feeling that wasn’t going to end well for him.

 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

 

I had finally gotten Aeryn to agree to lend me the car. She looked annoyed to have to give up the keys to me, but she’d probably have looked more annoyed if she had had to be the one to bring mom’s dinner to her down at the hospital.

I had just left Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital and was now driving back home. I had gotten used to some familiar landmarks around the town and I was beginning to figure out how to navigate. It also didn’t hurt that I had Google maps on my phone if the need arises.

I was so close to getting home when I had to stop at a light. I looked around, seeing a tiny coffee shop. It wasn’t a Starbucks, but I would have to try that place sometime. Aeryn liked coffee so I could probably get her stop there.

As I sat at this excruciatingly long light, I kept looking around. I could barely see anything in the darkness, but a streetlight shone down on the sidewalk, letting me have some vision. A person was dragging a bike down the sidewalk. A person who was rather tall and had curly hair. A lanky, tall, curly haired individual.

I rolled down my window. “Isaac?”

His head turned to face me. He looked startled at the sound of his name, as if he was waiting for something. But then he saw it was me and I saw his shoulders slump in relief.

“Ariella?” he asked gently, as if to make sure it was me.

“Hey!” I smiled. In a teasing voice, I added, “What are you doing out here, at…nine o’clock. Aren’t you aware of the police enforced curfew?”

“I’m biking to work,” he said quickly, eyes always seeming to dart around. What was he looking for?

“I think biking would involve actually sitting on the bike,” I laughed. “Do you need a ride?”

“I can’t.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Actually, you could. It’s easy. You open the door and sit. Easy as one, two, three.”

“Why do you want to give me a ride anyways?” he asked.

Why was he being so difficult? I was offering him a ride, not drugs. I wasn’t even in a white van. I wasn’t suspicious or anything.

I furrowed my brow. “Because we’re friends? Seriously, Isaac. Just put your bike in the trunk and get in. I promise not to kidnap you.”

 

He looked unsure but I pressed the trunk button anyways.

“See? It’s already open. Go!”

He sighed and started moving his bike towards the back. Score one hundred for Ariella. A few minutes later, I heard the trunk close and the passenger door opened up a second later. He settled in and buckled his seat belt.

“See? Now was that so hard?” I grinned.

Across the street, I could see the other light turn yellow. Finally, I was gonna have green. A car stopped beside us, a small silver Toyota. An older man with glasses sat at the wheel and he was looking around for something. Isaac looked over at it and his eyes widened. Did he recognize it? And if so, why did it seem to bother him?

“Go,” Isaac said as the light turned green.

I looked at him oddly and drove off. He seemed to relax again when the car was out of our sight. I kept driving normally but I was wondering what was wrong.

“Are you okay?”

“Take the next right,” he told me quietly. “And I’m fine…”

“Really? Isaac, you can talk to me if something’s bothering you. It’s what friends do.”

“I thought friends gave each other ride,” he said, a ghost of a grin floating through his face.

I rolled my eyes. “Well, that too,” I replied. “But are you sure you’re okay?”

“Take the next left,” he instructed and I turned the wheel. “I’m fine.”

I took the tone in his voice as a cue to stop asking. “Alright, can I ask where you work?”

“I guess you’re gonna see it anyways,” he groaned. “I, uh, work at Beacon Hills Cemetery…”

“You work at a grave yard?” I responded, slightly confused.

He nodded slowly. “That’s usually people’s reactions. I work for my dad.”

“Your dad makes you work at a grave yard?” I asked. He nodded. “Okay then, I have a friend who works at a cemetery. That’s a first.”

“I just told you that I dig graves and you’re not freaked out?” he said, half confused, half amazed.

“Why should I judge? Some people mow lawns, some dig graves. That’s the way the world works.”

He stared at me, eyes wide. “You’re really different, you know that? Oh, it’s right up here.”

“I know,” I smirked, slowing down as I saw the sign to the graveyard’s entrance. “Do you have a phone?”

He nodded quickly, before fumbling through his pockets for it. I let out a laugh at how eager he was. He showed it to me, a small and battered little thing. I plucked it from his fingers.

I found the contacts and filled in my number. “There, now you have my number. If you need a ride again or anything, I’ll see what I can do to help.”

He gave me a small smile. “You really want to be my friend, don’t you?” he asked, as if just realizing.

I laughed. “If you want me to.”

“I do,” he nodded. My heart seemed to beat faster and a smile seemed to stay on my face.

There was something different about Isaac. And maybe it could be the different to go with my different.


	7. Chapter 7

Aeryn

 

I'm not really one to be all up in other people's business, honestly I'm not... but the bits and pieces of conversations that I have been hearing from Scott and Stiles are starting to gnaw at my brain. I swear I heard the word werewolf pop up on more than one occasion, and they always seem to be having a hushed conversation. And then today in chemistry when Scott claimed that it was his fault that Garrison Meyers had been attacked... it just didn't add up. 

So, even though I didn't like the fact that Ariella wanted to take the car out tonight, I gave a minimal fuss and decided to spend this alone time to start doing some research. I immediately typed in the word werewolf in Google, and scanned the different websites that popped up. I don't think that werewolves are real but then again... you never know what could be out there. If people believe in God, why is it so weird to believe in werewolves? 

Twenty minutes into my search, I realized that in order to keep all of my information organized and in one place, I needed hard copies. So I printed off countless images and snippits of information about anything I could find pertaining to werewolves. I also found online articles about the murder of the woman in the woods on my first day of school, her name had been Laura Hale. And when her name popped up I found another article about a house fire ten years ago that killed nearly her entire family. I printed those articles off as well, and when I found one about Garrison Meyers I printed that too. 

I had seen countless crime shows have this sort of board that they kept everything on, unfortunately I didn't have a board, but I did have an empty wall... so I started assembling everything in place. There were so many loose ends that didn't add up, and so I stuck a hot pink post it on each piece of paper that didn't make total sense; the Hale house fire and a couple of the werewolf pages were in that category. The things that had a common ground had a green post it; Garrison Meyers and Laura Hale. 

After what felt like a half hour, I took a step back and admired my wall. It looked like a mess for the time being, maybe I should get some yarn and start tying to tacks like people do in the movies, my post it note system will work while I have this small amount of information but as more and more things popped up I will have to add them.

There was a short knock on my door and I jumped in place as my sister strolled into my bedroom, her eyes widened considerably as she noticed my wall. 

"Uh... do I even want to know?" She questioned, her eyebrow raising as she walked over to it, examining each article that I had. 

I cleared my throat, "Not really. I mean, I'm thinking about writing this book about werewolves and I wanted to incorporate the stuff that's been going on here, ya'know since there's always something happening in Beacon Hills." 

My sister nodded in understanding, "That sounds like an awesome idea for a book. Let me know when you have the first chapter done, I want to read it." 

"Yeah, okay." I breathed out in relief, running my hand through my hair anxiously. I can't tell her about my growing suspicions of my new "best friends" especially since she is already weary enough of Stiles because of his constant twitching. I mean, I could totally be overreacting. 

Ariella's eyes locked on an image that I had taped to the wall, "Is that Beacon Hills Cemetery?" 

I glanced at the paper she was staring at and nodded, "Yeah. Apparently this house fire ten years ago killed like all of the Hale's. I think I read somewhere that a guy was burned so severely that he's like paralyzed and a permanent resident at Beacon Hills Hospital." 

"Wow, that's awful." She murmured sadly. 

My eyes widened when I spotted Isaac in the photo, "Hey look! There's Isaac," I chuckled. He was barely visible, practically hidden behind a headstone. A man was standing beside him in the photo, looking down on him. 

Ariella pursed her lips together as she squinted at the photo, "I wonder if that's his dad? He told me that they both work there."

"What?" I gasped, she did not just say that Isaac a.k.a. baby deer, worked at the freaking cemetery. I'm sorry but that's kind of sketchy, I would never in a million years ever want to work in a freaking graveyard! What if one night the dead people all woke up and dug themselves out and then ate you? Oh my god that would be awful!

 

She glanced at me, "What? He works in the cemetery." 

"That's weird." I stated. 

Her face went red instantly, "No it's not!" She snapped, immediately defending Isaac, and making me feel like a complete and utter asshole for even thinking that it had been weird. 

"Okay, damn. I'm sorry, I mean... I guess it just wouldn't be my ideal job." I muttered. If there is one thing about my sister that scares that shit out of me, it's her temper. When she gets mad, she gets evil. I'm just glad that I am very rarely on the receiving end of her hatred. It's usually stupid tween's that blast their Justin Bieber music of guys that bathe in axe that have to face her wrath. 

She sighed and shook her head from side to side, "No... I'm sorry I shouldn't have snapped. I'm just tired. I'll uh... see you in the morning." 

I watched in confusion as she hastily exited my room, closing the door behind her and leaving me with the predicament on whether or not to make a late night run to that craft store with judgmental grandma and pick up some yarn or not...

➴ ➵ ➶ ➷ 

"Aeryn! Hey, wait up!" 

I recognized Stiles' voice immediately, and I halted my trek down the hall and waited for him as he had requested. He had sent me a text this morning, you know just your usual "hey what's up" kind of text and I ignored him. I felt bad, but I just feel like he's keeping something from me. 

"Hey." He greeted once he reached me, his cheeks slightly flushed from running down the hall.

I smiled faintly, "Hi."

"You okay? You seem a bit off..." He asked in confusion, his eyebrows pushed together as he awaited my response. 

I shrugged, "I don't know, I guess. I don't feel the sudden urge to choke out a freshman so I think I'm okay."

He chuckled and shook his head from side to side, "What do you end up getting on that History test?"

"An A-, what about you?" I asked casually, waiting for Scott to show up and end up having to take Stiles away from me, as per usual. This time though, I was more than willing to stalk them and eavesdrop so I could get some more information. 

I liked Stiles and Scott, I really did... but they are lying straight to my face constantly. I don't know what could be so major that they have to keep from me, but if it's the fact that one of them is a freaking werewolf I'm going to lose my shit. 

"A+!" He cheered and even did a cute little fist pump. Was it weird to think that he was cute? No, of course not. It's not a crime to think someone can be cute, even if they are your supposed "friend."

I grinned at him, "Nice. How'd Scott end up doing?"

Stiles grimaced and he gave me a nervous look, "He got a D-..."

"Shit... is he gonna get grounded for that?" I asked, my mom would kill me if I got a D- on a freaking test. Hell, she'd probably kill me. 

He shrugged, "Probably.. but apparently he's going to Allison's after school to "study" but you know that's totally code for well, not studying."

I nodded, "Yeah. I would be highly disappointed if they actually did end up just studying. Like, come on Scott don't go all Snow White innocent on us." 

"Exactly! I said the same thing to him and he got defensive! At least you get it," Stiles laughed, and his laugh was such a glorious sound that it ended up making me laugh too. The fact that I liked him as much as I did, only made me more weary to find out what it is that he is hiding from me with Scott.

➴ ➵ ➶ ➷ 

"El come on!" I moaned as I dramatically flung myself against the steering wheel. My sister was currently chatting with Lydia as she made her way towards the car. I wanted to stab Lydia with a spork, repeatedly. This girl was borderline obsessed with my sister and it was getting on my damn nerves. 

I mean, I don't care that Ariella is making friends, that's awesome, I just don't understand why she decided to make friends with the most annoying people in this freaking school. Jackson and Lydia are the poster children for high school stereotype snobs. Leave it to my sister to drag them into our lives. I'm ninety percent sure that Jackson hates me just as mush as I hate him, which brings me more joy than it should. 

Finally my sister worked her short ass legs and approached my car, when she pulled the door open and slid in she let out a huff and ran her hands through her hair. "That girl can literally talk about anything." She complained. 

I rolled my eyes, "I don't like her. She's dumbing herself down and it's not a cute look."

The blue jeep that I park beside backed out of it's parking spot and when I glanced over, I realized that it was Stiles. What are the odds that we park right next to each other. He caught sight of me and sent my sister and I wave, I didn't hesitate to wave back and he grinned before pulling out of the parking spot fully.

Ariella snorted, "You two would be adorable."

"Will you stop saying that?" I groaned, throwing the car in reverse and zipping out of my parking spot, following the line of traffic out of here. I was two cars behind Stiles, and when I checked the rearview I could see that Allison was a few cars behind us.

She shot me a look, "Are you kidding me? After you shoved me into Isaac the other day!"

"How many times do I have to tell you that was a damn accident! I swear, I didn't know it was him." I sighed in exasperation. 

I could practically see her roll her eyes, "You are such a liar. You so knew that was him."

"I didn't know for sure, I had a suspicion but I was going to shove you regardless so why does it matter? Damn." I muttered, she was not going to let this go. I swear, I don't know why she is so nervous around that kid. He hardly says ten words before he gets spooked and runs off. 

Ariella shrugged, "Well until you stop meddling with my love life, I'm going to meddle in yours."

I busted out laughing at her declaration, "I never said I was interested in Stiles like that, however you just said that you love Isaac."

Her face blew up red and her eyes widened, "I didn't say I loved him! It's a freaking figure of speech, oh my god. I can't talk to you about anything without you twisting it around and making it either inappropriate or awkward." 

"Not my fault that you love Isaac." I smirked, and she smacked my arm with her chemistry text book, why the hell wasn't that damn thing in her bag?

I let out a yelp and shot her a look, "What did I tell you about hitting me while I'm driving!"

"We're parked!" She snapped. 

"No, we're not! I have my damn foot on the break!" 

"Shut up! You're so annoying!"

"And you're in love with the Grim Reaper!"

"Take that back! That was so rude!"

"Ow! Stop hitting me!"

And then we both flew forward in our seats slightly, my hands smacked against the steering wheel and Ariella let out a shriek. I glanced in the rear-view and found that a car was entirely too close to us. Are you kidding me? We were just rear-ended. 

"Well that's just awesome." I muttered as Ariella got out of the car and starting screaming at the guy who hit us. Yeah, and I'm the crazy one.

**Author's Note:**

> Each chapter i will try and switch up the POV enjoy thanks comment and vote plz


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